Mercenaries

Mercenaries are bands of troops that can be hired for a price. They can be hired from the Military screen on the Mercenaries Tab.

You can hire mercenary companies whose capital is within a certain distance of your capital. Many mercenary companies are further limited to one or two religious groups, but unlike holy orders, they will fight any foe.

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In addition to the initial hiring fee, they have upkeep fees which are much higher than any of your own troops'. Be sure that you have plenty of money to pay them. Mercenaries who do not get paid will at best stand down, and will at worst defect to the enemy or declare war on you (which can even happen in the middle of a battle).

When hiring mercenaries, the full force of their unit will not be available if they are still recovering from losses sustained under a previous employer. They will gradually replenish their manpower over time. Check their manpower on the mercenary screen to ensure you'll get what you pay for.

The cost of hiring a troop does not vary based on how many units they currently possess, but the cost of maintenance does decrease as the mercenaries take casualties. For this reason, and because mercenaries can replenish casualties while on the field (standard levies do not replenish on the field), it is beneficial to put mercenaries wherever casualties are expected to be highest. The monthly upkeep of a company depends on that unit's current size. A thrifty and unscrupulous ruler might deliberately waste half of a company in a futile assault in order to save money.

Mercenary troops can only be hired by one ruler at a time - therefore it is possible that, at any given time, all the mercenaries which are within your price point may be unavailable because they have been hired by other realms. If your war strategy depends on the hiring of mercenaries, ensure that you check mercenary availability before declaring war. You could even hire them before the war starts (only raised levies prevent you from declaring war).

The composition ratio of the company is fixed, but the actual number of troops increases with time, based on size and current year.

Mercenary companies may become landed, which usually results from the bankruptcy of their employer leading to the company declaring war on them and seizing territory in lieu of their pay. For example, it's not uncommon to see Venezia ruled by the Company of the Hat. A landed company may be vassalized diplomatically. The requirements are as follows:

If you are a king, the captain must be of your culture. If you are an emperor this doesn't apply.

The captain must hold a duchy title of which you are the de jure controller.

If the captain is landed but does not hold a duchy title (other than his captaincy), it is possible to force him to acquire one. You will need to get wives for all of the men in that mercenary company, as while a mercenary captain can't marry, his courtiers can. Then wait until they have children and those children become adults. Eventually someone with living relatives will become captain. You then need to invite the son/father/brother of the captain to your court, give him a duchy, make sure the captain is his heir and then kill him off, which ensures that one of your de jure ducal titles passes to the captain and making you his de jure liege. Make sure your laws permit inheritance outside of the realm before you do that.

Some companies start as vassals, as noted in the table below. In the earliest starts, the Byzantine Emperor can create and vassalize the Varangian Guard by decision.

If a mercenary company is a vassal, only their liege can hire them, and they're much cheaper.

It is possible to create your own mercenary band to hire out to foreign rulers:

With the Horse Lords DLC, nomads (or other rulers with mercenary_traditions) can make their sons or brothers into mercenaries. This can help them gain the prestige needed for nomad succession, but risks death in battle or religious conversion (unless you hire them to stand in a safe location).

With the Conclave DLC, other rulers can assign a courtier with a military education to lead a mercenary band. This costs 50 wealth and reduces your demesne levies through a "Maintaining Mercenary Band" modifier. In exchange, the band will pay 15% of its income into your treasury. You can also further invest into upgrading your mercenaries. After creating the band, you'll have the options to send it troops or equipment. For 50 wealth you can add another 100 Light Infantry or 100 Light Cavalry. Sending equipment converts these Light Troops. For 50 wealth you can either convert 50 Light Infantry into Heavy Infantry or Pikemen or you can convert 50 Light Cavalry into Heavy Cavalry.